William E. Skovan

1923 - 2019

William E. Skovan

Town of Clinton - William E. Skovan, 95, a Veteran of World War II and resident of the Town of Clinton since 1987, departed for the Final Frontier on Wednesday, October 16, 2019.

He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Patricia Skovan of Poughkeepsie and his 7 children, Michael, Mary, Kathleen Jeffrey, Thomas, Alex and Eric.

Born on December 28, 1923 in Poughkeepsie, NY, he was the youngest of nine children (5 brothers and 3 sisters). His parents, George and Mary Skovan, had emigrated to the United States from the Kingdom of Austria-Hungary in 1912 with 4 children (John, Elizabeth, Margaret and Steven). 5 children (Isabelle, Frank, Joseph, George and William) were born in the United States.

William graduated from Nativity School in Poughkeepsie in 1938. He attended Poughkeepsie High School and Poughkeepsie Trade School before his employment at Taylor Mfg. Co. as a machinist of munitions for the US Army.

During World War II, William served 3 years in the US Army with the 97th Infantry Division. In Europe, the 97th Division earned 2 Battle Stars; 1 for the Rhineland Campaign, and 1 for the Central Europe Campaign which ended World War II in Europe. The 97th was immediately reassigned for service in the Pacific as part of the Landing Forces to hit the beaches of Japan. The atomic bomb cancelled this Campaign but the 97th Division occupied Japan for 5 months until March, 1946.

After Army Service, William worked briefly at Frederick Hart & Co. before obtaining a position as Modelmaker with the DeLaval Separator Co. for a period of 2 years and followed that employment with Fallkill Machine Co. as a Master Machinist and Contour Welder until June, 1951. On June 4, 1951, William became an IBM employee at the Poughkeepsie Plant, starting in the Tool-Grinding Department, then, for many years as a Machinist and Toolmaker in the Toolroom, where he advanced to the new concept at the time known as Tape Controlled Machining, where he was able to program many of the intricately complex parts for new IBM Computer products. William then became a Computer Operator and retired on June 30, 1985 after a number of years as an Administration Analyst in the Input/Output Department of the Computer Room.

There are no calling hours. A Graveside Service with Full Military Honors will be held on Monday, October 21, 2019 at 11:00am at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of the William G. Miller & Son Funeral Home, Inc. 371 Hooker Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. To send an online condolence, please visit our website at www.wmgmillerfuneral home.com